Deer, browse plentiful this season

Published 9:38 am, Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Bobby Widner, a retired fish and wildlife tech from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, shows the bow with which he hunts deer. Photo courtesy of Bobby Widner

Bobby Widner, a retired fish and wildlife tech from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, shows the bow with which he hunts deer. Photo courtesy of Bobby Widner

Photo: Courtesy Photo

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Adult deer in much of Texas managed to maintain good body condition despite the habitat-damaging effects of a year-long drought.

Adult deer in much of Texas managed to maintain good body condition despite the habitat-damaging effects of a year-long drought.

Photo: Shannon Tompkins, South Texas Buck

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Recent rains have generated good browse for the deer population this year. Hunters should plan to set up their deer blinds near wooded areas with ample acorns if they want to make a kill this season.

Recent rains have generated good browse for the deer population this year. Hunters should plan to set up their deer blinds near wooded areas with ample acorns if they want to make a kill this season.

Photo: Shannon Tompkins, Whitetail Buck

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Production and survival of Texas white-tailed deer fawns, which has been below average for three of the past five years as drought has plagued the state, promises to be very high this year as a mild winter and modestly wet spring improved does' body condition and produced a flosuh of crucial vegetation. Houston Chronicle photo by Shannon Tompkins less

Production and survival of Texas white-tailed deer fawns, which has been below average for three of the past five years as drought has plagued the state, promises to be very high this year as a mild winter and ... more

Photo: Shannon Tompkins

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One of the original breeding deer at RS Deer Ranch deer breeding and hunting operation Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2011, in Hempstead. Deer breeding is becoming a growing industry to produce the huge antlers that hunters want.
( James Nielsen / Chronicle ) less

One of the original breeding deer at RS Deer Ranch deer breeding and hunting operation Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2011, in Hempstead. Deer breeding is becoming a growing industry to produce the huge antlers that ... more

Photo: James Nielsen, Staff

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Some of the deer at RS Deer Ranch deer breeding and hunting operation Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2011, in Hempstead. Deer breeding is becoming a growing industry to produce the huge antlers that hunters want.
( James Nielsen / Chronicle ) less

Some of the deer at RS Deer Ranch deer breeding and hunting operation Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2011, in Hempstead. Deer breeding is becoming a growing industry to produce the huge antlers that hunters want.
( James ... more

Photo: James Nielsen, Staff

Deer, browse plentiful this season

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Deer might have the edge this hunting season because of a bumper crop of big, fat acorns that will keep them clear of corn feeders, some experts say.

More forest food means more deer, who can ignore hunter-provided lures, which could result in an interesting season.

Bobby Widner, who retired from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in August after 27 years, went bow hunting last weekend, the first weekend of the monthlong bow-only season.

"The habitat is excellent this year," Widner, who lives in Zavala in southern Angelina County, said in a telephone interview Monday. "We've had good rain when we've needed the rain. There is lots of browse."

Browse, for those of you not familiar with the term, are the leaves, twigs and buds of woody plants. Think acorns.

Widner said a deer would rather eat acorns than sneak up on a feeder at someone's deer blind.

For bow hunters, that means picking a place where there is enough browse and waiting for deer to come through.

About 1 million hunting licenses are issued in Texas, and half are for deer. Bow-hunting season opened Saturday and lasts until Nov. 2.